Device for the mechanical obtainment of alpha changeable paper or similar covering for the seats of water-closet basins



May 17, 1932. VALLECCH] 1,858,794

DEVICE FOR THE MECHANICAL OBTAINMENT OF A CHANGEABLE PAPER OR SIMILARCOVERING FOR THE SEATS OF WATER CLOSET BASINS Filed May 7, 1931 3Sheets-Sheet 1 E rLc aHecchL l Em'oR,

May 17, 1932. E. VALLECCHI 1,353,794

DEVICE FOR THE MECHANICAL OBTAINMENT OF A CHANGEABLE PAPER OR SIMILARCOVERING FOR THE SEATS OF WATER CLOSET BASINS Filed May '7, 1951 3'Sheets-Sheet 2 Enrico Va.) lecchfl,

NVENTOR;

May 17, 1932- E VALLECCHI 1,853,794

DEVICE FOR THE MECHANICAL OBTAINMENT OF' A CHANGEABLE PAPER OR SIMILARCOVERING FOR THE SEATS OF WATER CLOSET BASINS Filed May 7, 1931 3Sheets-Sheet 3 "Enrico Vallccchk mvENTORs By Mg Q; hit-m3.

composed of loose sheets of Patented May 17, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE;

ENRICO VALLECCI-II, OF FLORENCE, ITALY DEVICE FOR THE MECHANICALOBTAINMENT' OF A. CHANGEABLE PAPER OR SIMILAR COVERING FOR THE SEATS 0FWATER-CLOSET BASIN$ Application filed May 7,1931, Serial No.

The invention concerns a device to be applied in combination with theraisable fiat open lid or seatthat is, with the stoolof fixedwater-closet basins, with a view to constantly having in virtue of sucha device applied to said openseat, lid, or stool, a covering of paper orsimilar material, that may be changed at will.

A covering for the stools-usually made of wood, rubber or the like-is ageneral de-' sideratum for purposes of hygiene and cleanliness, but hasfailed to be generally adopted owing to absolute lack of practicability,being paper, to be applied by hand. Y

According to the invention there is pro vided, close to theseat, arollor'the like,

formed of a strip of paper or of any other suitable material, presentinga consecutive series of zones without any solution of continuity; suchzonesbeing suitably shaped and provided with an ample central aperture,said roll being in combination witha device in virtue whereof the rollis unwound from time to time, as controlled, in such a manner as tocause, each time it is actuated one of the zones of which it iscomposed, i. e. a change of paper with its aperture, to be presented,

.. in register with the common aperture of the stool and consequentlycorresponding with the mouth of the basin or pan itself. Thus the personusing the stool-does not sit directly upon the latter, but upon the seatprovided a with a clean paper covering or the like which may also havebeen previously sterilizedthat unwinds from time to time off the roll;while the paper, i. e. the covering having just been made use of bywhoever had i resorted to the water-closet, proceeds to wind round aroller from which the soiled paper on the roller being filledis removedat a.

convenient moment. The device is such that I motion in order to theobtainment of the ings which show boththe case of hand-actu-- turn,spreads over the seat and 535,614, and in ma November 27, 1930;

ated apparatus and that of apparatus driven by a smallelectric motor.

In said drawings: Fig. 1 shows in perspective the ensemble of the deviceapplied to a basin with the Fig. 5 shows a plan view of thepapercarrying roller, fitted to the actuating device;

Fig. 6 is a section on line-C-D of Fig. 3;

- Fig. 7 is a detail of the fitting of the accompanying roller;

Fig. 8 shows the diagram for electric ink stead of mechanical actuation;

Fig. 8; I

Fig. 10 is a rearward view of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a vertical section ofthe front paper-winding roller, and i "Fig. 12 shows in a front and sideview a detail of the wheel for the contacts.

According to the example delineated. in Figs. 1-7 inclusively, theinvention consists in providing above the basin-lid or seat a roll ofpaper, which upon being caused to proceeds to wind round a front roller.

This roll of paper -a'is enclosed within a casing b that may be opened,being hinged at -c. Inside the casing there are two walls -dclprovidedwith a groove 6 for the insertion of the pins of the roller'a'.- v

Fron the roller a-- is unwound the paper or the like, which on beingtaken up by a second roller -f spreads over the seat whence it proceedsto wind round the front roller -'g-. In order to the obtainm-ent of thismovement the front roller g isprovided with a toothed wheel g which bymeans of a; Gall chain or the like is connected to a toothed wheelhcarried by aroller located beneath that marked f.. Said roller -z' isprovidedwith-coverings -e of rubber or the like-situated on Fig. 9 is aplan projection on line E-F of The axis of this/pinion -L carries atoothed wheel m within the casing -n which toothed wheel 7-4n isconnected to the upper toothed wheel by means of a chain p; it should benoted that between the two wheels Ym. and -0. there is a ratio varyingfor instance from one to three, and this serves the purpose of ensuringthat on a single turning of the crank gthe toothed wheel 0 also performsa single revolution, whereas the toothed wheel m performs three, forinstance. And as the pinions L k and the toothed wheels ..hg have anequal ratio, these pinions and these wheels also will perform threerevolutions.

A special crank q--.acts, as stated, upon said toothed wheel 0. By theturning, as has been set forth, of the roller g the latter causes thepaper to advance, compelling it to unwind off the roller a, beingfurther urged hereto by the rotation of the rubber parts i f The paperthus carried forward is wound round the front roller g. This roller g isprovided laterally withv a frictionattachment g presenting a certain re-P sistance adapted to allow thevroller to slide loosely so as not totear the paper whenthe latter finds itself excessively taut for anyreason. j

, The front roller gmust-as statedturn a certain number of times, three,for instance; these three turns will bring about the unwinding of auantity, i. e. of a length or zone of paper suflicient to effect achange of covering on the. seat of the basin.

On'thebasin beingmade use of, the roller eg naturally increases indiameter through the winding of the paper, from time to time, and it isfor this reason above all that it is necessary to provide it with thefrictional attachment above referred to. Furthermore, the said roller isalso provided with a resilient axis so that it can be raised for thepurpose of insertin the paper in the first instance, or every time theapparatus is re-charged.

The crank may be provided with a resilient detent catch or the likecapable of stopping.

it immediately after the performance of a whole turiu One of thosedetents alluded to. is of the well-known type, adapted to. warn whoevermakes use of the crank that the end of the turn of the latter has beenreached. A hand-screw may be suitably applied in combination with thecrank in order to avoid the reverse action of the latter.

The roller may be provided with a resilient in *that is o erable inorder to permit P .9 P

the removal of the latter when completed,

that is, filled with rolled paper.

The front roller rests on two casings -1-.s-. which acts as supports,while one of the casingsthat marked- 2"- contains the chain mechanism.The functioning will now be clear, which occurs as follows :on the crankg being turned until the detent orthe like gives warning of thecompletion of the turn, the rotation of the pinion Z is brought aboutwhich imparts motion to that marked n7c+ intended-because it isconnected. to the he tore-to rotate the roller -i which, in its turn,together with the chain ,g fitted to the toothed wheels h-g' also causesthe turning of the front roller "gcarrying the paper along with it. v pY I The paper carried by the roller,d-'- is also incited to turn invirtue ofthemovement crank; accordingto. this examplethe paper may beshifted, viz it may be chan ed'upon the basin, through the actuation othe a paratus by means of a smallaelectric motor -t-. The latter isinitially started-by a detent pulsator i The axis of the electricmotorcarries a ini'on -o-" which engages with a wheel with helicoidal teethwprovided with a small lateral pin w intended to. engage with the teethof a star-wheelm presenting twelve points, On the motor being started,at each turn of the worm-Wheel the snapping or springing forward of oneof the, teeth of the star-wheel -m is brought about. This star-wheelisprovided-with four small lateral bolts which contact. on a small springa'- inorder to permit the disengagement of the whole gearing. I I

As the small bolts located on the star are spaced apart by the distanceof three teeth, it is only after the springing forward or snapping ofthree teeth of the ,stari. c. after the occurrence of three revolutionsof the worm-wheel w-- that the motor is aatomatically detached. And thisis because a small central connector fixed to the star is always incontact with a. conductor --3 that leads to the motor.

The contact -c also leads to the motor. 811 the star --wbeing turned ithappens that when said small plate aencounters z the motor is actuated;and it is for this reason that, as stated, it is only after thespringing forward of three of the star m and the performance of threerevolutions of the worm-wheel w while the paper has shifted suflicientlyfor the change to be effected, that the detachment of the motor takesplace.

Thus with said electric system the change of paper is brought aboutthrough the mere pushing of a contact-button whereas the stoppage of theelectric motor occurs automatically as soon as the paper has beenchanged.

It should be understood that the drawings constitute but a schematicform of example given solely by way of a practical showing of theinvention, it being possible for said invention to be varied as to formsand arrangements without however departing from the scope of the conceptembodied by the invention.

Thus, for instance, the roller both for the unwinding and for thewinding of the strip of paper might be positioned otherwise than asindicated, i. e. at a comparative distance from the basin in order to beas inconspicuous as possible, to wit, hidden, that is, enclosed withinthe walls, under the flooring, etc. together with their mechanisms.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is:

1. In combination, a closet seat, rollers mounted front and rear of saidseat, a paper roller carried on the rear roller and unwinding over theseat to rewind upon the front roller, said paper being provided withspaced apertures, intermediate traction rollers over which the paperpasses from the rear roller to the seat, means for driving the frontroller from the intermediate rollers, and means for driving theintermediate rollers to draw off paper from the rear roller to be takenup by the front roller.

2. In combination, a closet seat, rollers mounted front and rear of saidseat, a paper roll carried on the rear roller and unwinding over theseat to rewind on the front roller, said paper being provided withspaced apertures, intermediate traction rollers over which the paperpasses from the rear roll to the seat, means for driving the frontroller from the intermediate rollers, and an upright crank and geararrangement at the rear of the seat connected to the drivingintermediate roller, whereby rotary movement is imparted to the latter.

3. A paper seat cover supplying device, as claimed in claim 2, in whichthe means for driving the front roller, comprises a sprocket and chainconnection between the rollers.

4. A paper seat cover supplying device, as claimed in claim 2, in whichthe means for driving the front roller includes a friction clutcharranged on the latter to permit the same to slit with respect to itsdriving force, whereby increase in diameter of the front roll as ittakes up paper will not cause the same to become too taut.

5. A paper seat cover supplying device, as claimed in claim 2, includinga resilient stop device arranged on the crank arrangement to preventreverse movement thereof, the crank proper having a reverse screwconnection to permit unscrewing of the crank without effecting movementin the gear arrangement.

6. A paper seat cover supplying device, as claimed in claim 1, in whichthe means for driving the intermediate rollers includes an electricmotor, an electric pulsator to incite a number of the coils in saidmotor, comprising a worm and worm wheel connection for the motor, a pinon the worm wheel, a star wheel operated by the pin having a pluralityof contact points in proportion to the number of teeth, a boltconstantly in contact with the motor, a plurality of contact pins and aplate on the motor contacting with the pins for automatically stoppingthe motor when a predetermined length of paper has been taken up by thefront roller.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ENRICO VALLECGI-II.

